I live in a small town and there are sidewalks everywhere. I like to walk most days of the week. It’s good exercise and helps me to decompress from worldly pressures. One evening as I was headed home, several birds flew over my head. You see birds all the time and really we’re just used to them. But this particular evening I noticed how free they were. They didn’t have to stop at crosswalks. They weren’t waiting on the train. They weren’t concerned with anything at street level. They were just soaring! How amazing is that? Not a care in the world!

Unfortunately, for the child of God, that’s not the world we live in. Everywhere you look, there seems to be more and more trouble. Sickness, financial stress, family drama, politics, etc. That’s just to name a few. Even Jesus, Himself, said in this world you will have many trials and sorrows. But then He delivers the good news -“But take heart because I have overcome the world.” (NLT) 

Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to deal with hurdles in life? Wouldn’t it be great to just “fly” right over them? Sure. But that’s not exactly how God arranged it. He’s going to allow us to go through some things to develop our character. We’re not birds. We don’t fly. However, God has given us certain privileges that allow us to rise above circumstances through His power. The book of Isaiah declares that those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31). Life has a way of closing in on us sometimes. Often it seems as though you’re drowning in a sea of turmoil. This is when we have to get in God’s Word and find out what He has to say about our particular situation. This is literally taking us higher like the eagles. Instead of being bombarded face to face with issues, God lets us get a bird’s eye view of how He sees it. Troubles of any kind, pale in comparison to how mighty our God is. Verse 22 tells us that the Lord sits above the circle of the earth. If your life is hidden in Him, positionally, you are far above your circumstances. It may not feel like it, but rest assured, you are! Our “feelings” have nothing to do with it. Facts are facts. Our God is above earthly matters and He wants us to realize that we are too because we are in Him. 

The book of Hebrews reminds us to keep our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. To keep our eyes on Jesus, we must look to Him and His Word. He’s seated at the Father’s right hand interceding for us always. If Jesus is literally praying for you, failure is not an option. The text tells us He’s the champion. He’s gone right everywhere we’ve gone wrong and handed us the trophy as though we won it ourselves! The enemy will whisper lies about how you’re not going to make it, but the truth is, we may be fighting, but we’re doing it from the winner’s circle. Our faith is being built in the fight, but we already have the victory. 

Like the birds of the air, Christ has truly set us free. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy that He literally gave His life to purchase this freedom for everyone. All we have to do is accept His gift by faith. Once we belong to Jesus, we never have to be held down by anything. We can live in the freedom He has provided for us. We can know with certainty that if God is for us, who can be against us? We most certainly can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Hardship may come, troubles are inevitable, but if we find our refuge in Jesus, we will find ourselves soaring!

Today’s writer is Brandi Crowe. A hairdresser for over 25 years, she is currently the owner of Brandi Crowe salon in Buford, GA. She loves hiking, a good cup of coffee and spending time with family and friends. Brandi lives in a custom farmhouse with her husband, Robby and cat, Harold.